Remember the hymn, “Master the Tempest is Raging?” How comforting it feels when we come to the “Peace, be still” section! Does it remind us of our own ups and downs? As we think back on our lives, it somehow seems easier to remember the happy times. Thankfully, unhappy times are more difficult to recall.

The most turbulent period in my life was when I divorced the father of our six children. It was excruciating! I wept buckets of tears. Though I was slender at the time, I released thirty pounds in two weeks. The only way I could sleep was to lie flat on my back and listen to the Tabernacle Choir. There was no automatic rewind in those days so my sleep consisted of “naps” between rewindings.

But time is a great healer and eventually, I found inner peace. Let me share some of the ways I accomplished this:

Prayer. Though I had said evening prayers since a child at my mother’s knees, I prayed more earnestly than ever.

Scriptures. Though I had read my Scriptures for twenty years, I spent even more time with “Heavenly Father’s Love Letters.”

Exercise. I began playing tennis for an hour very early on weekday mornings before the children awoke (it was safe in those days).

Service. I focused on serving others. On lonely Friday nights and quiet Sundays, after the children were asleep, I phoned other single mothers in an attempt to comfort and uplift them.

Develop faith: I highlighted the Scriptures telling of the miracles of Jesus and memorized those that built my faith. Thus, I looked to God for leadership instead of a husband.

Set goals: Goals were a great help. I looked on them as being God’s gift to help us avoid the distractions in these latter days. They steered me toward my celestial goal so I could “fly in one direction instead of fluttering in all.”

Keep busy: I arose very early in the morning and kept my days so tightly scheduled that I dropped into bed utterly exhausted at night; I had no time or strength left for self pity.

I hope this will encourage you dear readers to look to God for the inner peace we all so earnestly desire. And if our lives are flowing smoothly along right now, we might want to use the above techniques to build an inner reservoir of strength to use when we come to the “rapids” in life.